


Real loyalties

by Televa



Category: Jojo Rabbit (2019)
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Canon Era, Domestic Bliss, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Light Angst, M/M, Mentions of canon typical violence, Morning Cuddles, Period-Typical Homophobia, Romantic Fluff, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:35:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23568430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Televa/pseuds/Televa
Summary: "They could hear your thinking all the way back in Berlin," Freddy says softly and turns around. His eyes are still closed like he was still trying to will himself back to sleep, and succeed the next moment. Instead, he opens his eyes and looks at Klenzendorf with worry.
Relationships: Freddy Finkel/Captain Klenzendorf
Comments: 12
Kudos: 73





	Real loyalties

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Real loyalties](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/673624) by Evansa. 



> Help! A man has fallen into Finkeldorf river in lego city!
> 
> So yeah. Ended up writing about these two, which is nothing surprising really. English is my second language, so if you spot any typos or idiom fails etc, let me know!
> 
> A HUGE shoutout and thank you for Evansa for translating this, I am deeply humbled ❤️

The white curtains are closed but slivers of sunlight come through, hitting Freddy's hair giving it a reddish colour that is there only during these weeks of late spring, when sunlight is once again warm against their backs and the countryside around them comes back alive. 

The apartment provided by the army is chilly though, forcing them to stay firmly tucked under thick blankets and wrapped around each other. It's such a blessing that Freddy is basically a living radiator, his skin always so warm to touch. During their first months together, all those years ago, it has amazed Klenzendorf, no healthy man was supposed to be so _warm_. But, no matter how many times tested, Freddy stayed absent of fever, and Klenzendorf just had to accept the other's natural heat. Gradually he learned to bask in it instead, learned to appreciate the extra warmth that prevented him from succumbing to frostbite in the front line. 

Freddy mumbles, still asleep, and Klenzendorf is drawn back to present. 

The apartment is big enough to have two bedrooms, both upstairs facing each other. It was easier to live together, they'd say, if something happened. Safer, too. The smaller bedroom was nominally Freddy's, it held all his clothes and other belongings, and the desk by the window was filled with piles of papers and memos. In the end it was only a room without any personality or character, just a room with a desk and a bed no one has slept a night in. 

Their neighbors know the deeply stressed Captain likes to sleep late during weekends, and it's easy to pretend Freddy is a heavy sleeper too, so they let them keep the curtains and windows closed long into the afternoon, and they know to steer away from knocking the door and bothering him with trivial questions of how their children are doing in HJ. The children are nothing more than that, just children, and he wants to say it against their parents' faces, but he can't. Instead he smiles without glee and tries to spin positive tales of the wondrous bravery of little Hans, or Philipp, or Frans, even when there's none to be mentioned. 

Klenzendorf hates every single lie he tells, but it keeps him alive. It keeps Freddy alive. 

"They could hear your thinking all the way back in Berlin," Freddy says softly and turns around. His eyes are still closed like he was still trying to will himself back to sleep, and succeed the next moment. Instead, he opens his eyes and looks at Klenzendorf with worry. 

"I am sorry I woke you up," Klenzendorf says. He really didn't mean to, Freddy is just as sleep deprived as him, sometimes even worse, barely functioning with four hours of sleep. Those are the days no one dares to cross him, or they face a tremendous amount of shouting that leaves Freddy panting with a red face. It requires a stolen cigarette from Klenzendorf's silver case for him to calm down, sometimes two, and he's always uncharacteristically silent for the remainder of the day, speaking in short, fed up puffs only when they're back in the safety of home. 

If only the world could be better. 

However, right now Freddy is soft and warm in his arms, all air of irritation long gone in the past where it belongs. 

"I have," Klenzendorf yawns, "been thinking." 

"Oh no." Freddy grins impishly against his neck, shaking with a voiceless laughter so strong it vibrates in Klenzendorf's ribcage, in his heart. 

"Oh shush you, I am being serious! I have been thinking, and I have come to a conclusion that I want away."

Freddy halts, is completely still. The shadow of the flower bouquet hits his face, emphasizing the startled expression he has. When he speaks, his voice is laden with fear and eyes wide in alarm. 

"Those are more than dangerous words to state, Kurt, you know that. Are you being serious right now? Like, deadly serious?" 

Klenzendorf nods. He is serious, he hasn't been this serious about anything in his life. "We could ask Rosie, she has all the right connections, I'm certain of that. She could help us flee up to north, go through Denmark to Sweden or maybe even Finland."

Freddy stays silent, moves only to tuck a wild lock of hair behind his ear. He rests his head on Klenzendorf's chest, it's a position they often find each other as night falls, making their bedroom the only world they need. It's simple intimacy, to be so close, to exist in a cocoon of gentleness. 

"I am old and just so fucking tired." Klenzendorf continues as he crosses their fingers together over his stomach. "And I love you. And I want to spend the rest of my life together with you, no matter how long, no matter where as long as it's you next to me." 

The tension in the room could be cut with a butterknife, as dread settles in Klenzendorf's stomach. Had he overstepped the boundaries, said too much, misplaced his faith in ridiculous optimism? The only reason they were still alive was because they had learned to be discreet, to lie and exist under the radar. 

"It would be too dangerous. There's no guarantee they wouldn't find us, separate us and send to the camps to die. At least here I can fall asleep knowing where you are, knowing you're alive. It's too much to risk, even with right connections," Freddy states and Klenzendorf understands, deep down, he is right. To leave would mean not knowing anything else constant than fear and the ground underneath their feet. Falkenheim is a small town with its peculiar inhabitants, and maybe in some other time Klenzendorf could see himself living there for good. Falkenheim is a beautiful, yet its peacefulness nothing but a false sense of security. 

Staying would be just as deadly as leaving. 

"I would risk it all to keep you alive, to keep you safe," Klenzendorf argues back. He leaves out _to keep you in my arms as long as I can,_ but Freddy understands. He is brilliant like that. His brilliant Freddy. Such a marvel. 

Sun has risen so high already and their time is running out. The bedroom is pooling with light, shadows moved past a pile of clothes stripped off in a hurry. Klenzendorf stares at Freddy's curly locks in silence, as he gives him time to go process their conversation. 

"If we are really going to do this, we have to be smart," Freddy says in the end, his mind made. Klenzendorf smiles like he hasn't in a long time. "We'd have to collect everything a little by little, keep the suspicions even more lower. I could talk with Rosie about it, we agreed to have lunch together next Tuesday anyway. Might as well do something useful with that time." 

Freddy sits up and scrambles out of the bed. He stretches in a very catlike manner, all long limbs and air of sweetness around him. 

"Now come on, it's time for breakfast, although lunch would be more appropriate at this hour." 

Klenzendorf nods and sits up on the edge of the bed. He reaches out and manages to catch Freddy's hand before he wanders down to the kitchen. 

"I want to be a proper husband and give you the life you deserve, free of fearing and obeying commands neither of us want to execute," he says voice thick with honesty. There's no need for short selling the truth as they both know where Klenzendorf's real loyalties lie. 

Freddy stills. Then, laughs with such an intensity he has to throw his head back. 

"Kurt, did you just propose to me?" he asks between shaky laughs as he grips his stomach. Klenzendorf chuckles along, finally understanding how absolutely devastatingly mundane this whole situation is to declare so love-filled words. 

"I think I did."

Freddy finally calm down, a huge smile never leaving his lips as he leans over to place a gentle kiss on Klenzendorf's forehead. 

"You silly. You have had my heart for the past twelve years, and you will have it for the next twelve too. Or twenty, or thirty. Or how long there is." 

"And you mine. For as long as you will have it."

As he is at last pulled properly up from the bed Klenzendorf can't help but smile as he listens to Freddy chatter what they should eat, _Kurt I'm practically starving_ , Klenzendorf cannot help counting his blessings, no matter how small they seem. 

If only they would have enough time.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> You can find me on tumblr @ too-spoopy-to-be-frukd if you want to reblog or leave a like there.


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